Don't Judge on What You See
by SqutternutBosh
Summary: Post Deathly Hallows, post epilogue. Literally. Albus Severus Potter had never really worried about being sorted until it came upon him. Then, he realised how big a deal it was. It was all James's fault really.


Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Darn…

'_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, but don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me…' – Sorting Hat, PS/SS_

Albus Potter looked around the Entrance Hall uncertainly. As much as its grandeur and magic awed him, he was terrified of it. Okay, he reasoned with himself, he wasn't terrified of the castle itself- the tiny part of it he had seen and the spectacular view of it perched above the dark lake was simply magnificent. What he was really scared of, was what being at Hogwarts would mean.

If he was at Hogwarts, he would have to be sorted.

Albus had never really worried about being sorted before. When he heard stories of it as a child, it just seemed like some sort of basic ritual that everyone had to go through, to be accepted and find their place within the population of the wizarding school. In fact, even after he had received his Hogwarts letter and had almost knocked the poor delivery owl unconscious in his haste and excitement, he had not worried about. He hadn't really given it a lot of thought. It was only really since the previous day that the idea of placing a battered and burned old hat atop his flaming red hair had become a concern for his eleven year old self. It was James' fault really.

James wasn't cruel, or unjustifiably mean. Most of the time, he was quite pleasant to his younger brother and sister. But, he did like to tease and when he saw that he was getting the desired reaction, he would continue to poke fun. He was only thirteen. He didn't realise the unnecessary worry he had evoked within his younger brother.

Albus started as the group of first years moved suddenly. Hagrid had disappeared, yet the group seemed to be following someone. He and the other first years remained silent as they were herded into a relatively small ante-chamber off the Entrance Hall. Lit torches flickered and cast spidery shadows across their apprehensive faces.

'You are to wait here until I return,' a squeaky voice said from somewhere to the right and down a little. Albus turned to see a small, navy-robed wizard with white hair. He recognised him from his parent's stories of their time at Hogwarts.

'That was Professor Flitwick,' someone just behind him whispered excitedly as Flitwick left them alone. Albus moved around to face his cousin.

'I know,' he said. Rose smiled shakily back, plunging a hand inside her robe pocket. He knew she was gripping her wand tightly.

'Head of Ravenclaw, right?' came a boy's voice. 'I hear their Quidditch team has been having a rough couple of years.' Only Oscar could think of Quidditch at a time like this, Albus thought.

Albus had known Oscar Wood since they were both three years old. He was the son of Puddlemere United Keeper, Oliver Wood and his wife Lucy Cadwallader, a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. It was because their mums played together that Albus and Oscar became such good friends. Oscar was on the tall side with mousey hair, blue eyes and a scattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose and cheeks. Albus didn't think it was possible for anybody to be more fanatical about Quidditch.

'Maybe you'll end up in Ravenclaw, show them a thing or two,' Rose said to Oscar. The three were all good friends and Albus felt lucky to already know some of his fellow first years. He could see others standing quiet and alone, not quite knowing what was about to happen. He realised that some of them might be muggle-borns and had no idea what was about to happen. He felt suddenly privileged to have grown up in a magical family.

'I don't know if I'll be in Ravenclaw,' Oscar said, idly scratching his chin. 'I mean, my

dad was in Gryffindor and my mum was in Hufflepuff.'

'My mum says it doesn't matter what house the rest of your family are in,' Rose stated smartly, looking pleased with herself.

'Well, no… But, don't you have to be _really_ smart to be in Ravenclaw?'

'Oh, you're right, you'll never get sorted into Ravenclaw,' Rose said with a wicked grin. She looked just like Uncle Ron when she did that.

'Haha,' Oscar muttered dryly.

Albus wished they wouldn't talk about houses; he was beginning to feel sick. His stomach was churning over and over. He began to wonder whether eating on the Hogwarts Express had been a good idea. He pushed his glasses up his nose and closed his green eyes, trying to focus on something else. He could hear his Dad talking to him at the station, telling him to ignore James. He opened his eyes again.

'My dad says you can choose what house you go into,' he said quietly. Rose raised her eyebrows sceptically.

'Then what's the point in having a Sorting Hat?' she asked, just as Flitwick reappeared.

'Come on then, first years, follow me!' he cried joyously, leading the pack of anxious eleven year olds. Albus felt for his wand in his own pocket, comforted by the fact that he hadn't lost it. He had been so pleased when his wand had chosen him- eleven and half a half inches containing a single dragon heartstring cased in solid ash wood. He hoped he wouldn't let it down.

He followed after Rose, who was trying to get to the front of the group, her red ponytail bobbing up and down. Oscar walked at his side and gasped as they entered the Great Hall. The ceiling was glowing a beautiful gold and crimson as the sun was setting behind fluffy, pure white clouds. It was an amazing sight and Albus would happily get used to it. As he looked down again, he saw that all of the eyes in the hall were on him and his future classmates. It was completely silent, except for their footsteps on the stone tiles. Albus focused his eyes ahead of him, briefly catching sight of James who smiled encouragingly from his place at the Gryffindor table. Albus wondered if he would be joining him soon.

They had now stopped at the front of the Great Hall, stood tightly together before the teacher's table. Professor McGonagall smiled warmly at them all as Flitwick unrolled a scroll almost as long as he was tall. Albus caught sight of the strange magical object that was about to destine where he spent the next seven years of his life. Suddenly, the tattered brim opened and it burst into slightly raspy, yet tuneful song.

Albus was beginning to get even more anxious. He could feel and hear his heart beating over the Hat's song. The butterflies in his stomach felt like they had transfigured into a herd of stampeding elephants. He barely caught a word of the Hat's song, just snatches of phrases such as 'stood tall for victory', 'fought for equal unity' and 'Hogwarts survives in harmony.'

He knew the basic traits for each house- every young witch and wizard did. Gryffindors were brave, Ravenclaws smart, Hufflepuffs loyal and Slytherins cunning. But he also knew that there was a lot more to it. He was intelligent enough to understand that there was a lot more to every individual than one obvious trait. He also felt he knew that he was none of those things that each house appeared to pride above others. He wasn't particularly brave or very smart, he didn't feel completely loyal to anyone or anything and he was far from cunning. That sounded more like James- and he was a Gryffindor. No longer worried that he would be sorted into Slytherin, a place he felt he wouldn't belong, Albus panicked about not belonging in any of the four houses. Perhaps there was a mystery fifth founder who would have liked him and other nervous people like him.

A sudden roaring noise filled Albus's ears and he noticed that the rest of the hall was clapping- the Hat had finished its yearly rendition. He joined in half-heartedly, catching Oscar's eye. He was chewing the bottom of his lip and shifting from foot to foot a little. Rose was staring at the Sorting Hat, her arms held stiffly be her sides. This was it.

'Adams, Peter,' Flitwick called.

One of the smallest newcomers stumbled forward, shaking visibly. He lifted the old hat cautiously and sat on the spindly, three-legged stool. Albus held his breath, waiting to see what happened next. All was quiet for about thirty seconds, apart from a few murmurs from the older students. Albus glanced over his shoulder and saw his cousin Victoire sat at the Ravenclaw table. Her Head Girl badge glinted in the light cast from the enchanted ceiling.

'HUFFLEPUFF!' the Hat shouted at last. Peter Adams removed the hat and raced to his newly assigned house as everyone applauded. The Hufflepuffs welcomed him jovially. Albus hoped his new house would greet him in the same manner- he could hardly imagine how bad it would be to get sorted into a house that didn't want you.

Luckily, Albus had cousins in every house except Slytherin. So, wherever he ended up, he hoped that at least his blood relatives would be kind to him and help him out.

'Clarkson, Matilda,' Flitwick had made his way further down the list now. The Sorting Hat pondered for a few moments and Matilda Clarkson clutched the edge of the stool.

'GRYFFINDOR!' it announced a couple of seconds later. Albus watched her hurry over to the end of the Gryffindor table, as the older Gryffindors cheered and clapped. Matilda's face was bright red. Albus saw James cheering particularly enthusiastically with his friend Simon Fawcett. They were both laughing and enjoying themselves. Albus wanted to be there, already happy in his house.

'Entwhistle, Douglas,' Flitwick was moving along. Douglas Entwhistle was placed in Ravenclaw, then Gareth Franklin was made a Hufflepuff. Justine Gold was the first person to be sorted into Slytherin. The far table, furthest from Albus whooped appreciatively and the other houses clapped politely. As much as Albus had heard about Slytherin turning out bad witches and wizards, he knew not to believe in them too much. The other houses had also turned out some traitors and Slytherin had a lot of good people in it.

Edward Greening was also made a Slytherin. Then, a few more people were sorted. Albus tried his best to make a note of their names and houses, as they would be living and learning with him for the next seven years. They didn't look like a bad lot. They were spread and mixed out quite equally amongst the four houses.

'Malfoy, Scorpius,' Albus eyed the platinum-haired boy who approached the Sorting Hat as his name was called. His father had mentioned Scorpius's father a few times- he knew that they had been rivals in school, but was sure there was more to the story than just that. It wasn't long before Scorpius was placed in Slytherin. Albus wasn't going to discriminate against him for it.

A lot had changed in nineteen years since Voldemort's downfall- the four houses would always serve as opposition for each other in the house and Quidditch cup and Slytherin still weren't as chummy as the rest (some of them, anyway), but there was a stronger sense of unity. Hogwarts was for all of them, whether they be pure-blood, half-blood or muggle born. The lessons learned by their parents during their years at Hogwarts had been passed down to their children.

As 'Milton, Elliot' was sorted into Ravenclaw, Albus began to realise just how close the letter 'M' was to 'P' in the alphabet. In fact, it was barely any time before the fateful words 'Potter, Albus' were called out as 'Patton, Kelly' joined the Hufflepuffs. Albus unconsciously took in a deep breath as he took the few steps towards the Hat.

It was suddenly very warm in the Great Hall, as everyone's eyes were surely on Albus. He pushed his glasses up his nose and kept looking down. He reached the stool, carefully picked up the Hat and placed it atop his Weasley red hair. The world went black and stuffy as the well-worn fabric slid over his face.

'Well, well,' a voice said, coming from everywhere and nowhere both at once. 'Another tricky one. Had a couple of you today- not so eager to conform to the traditional family house any more. Much more of an individual spirit… I like it.'

Albus wasn't sure what to make of this comment. He assumed it was a positive thing. He could feel the hard wooden stool beneath him and he gripped the edge of the stool tightly. He was aware that everybody in the Hall was watching him.

'Hmmm… I wouldn't say that you have the right mindset to be a Hufflepuff… Willing to work, certainly, but… Yes. Not a Hufflepuff.' Albus's first thought in conjunction with this decision was rather naïve.

_I don't like yellow anyway,_ he thought. There was a sudden wheezing sound filling his ears and he realised that the Hat was laughing. It knew what he was thinking.

'That's no reason to be swayed, boy,' it chuckled. 'Anyway. I can see that you are quite intelligent, but not eager enough for Ravenclaw. You might make good friends there though…'

Albus wondered briefly if the Hat could see into the future.

'Of course I can't,' the Hat answered his unasked question, having picked up the thought through whatever magic it used. 'I just have a knack for these things; it's what I was made to do. So, not a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw…'

_I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor,_ Albus panicked. _But I don't really want to be a Slytherin._

'Old prejudices die hard, eh, boy?'

'No,' Albus whispered. _I just don't think I'll fit in... I won't fit in anywhere._

'Oh, come now, of course you will. I've almost decided anyway.'

_I'm not brave or daring, I'm not cunning or ambitious…_

'Maybe you just haven't had the chance to be brave yet,' the Hat suggested. 'I wouldn't say you weren't ambitious, no, far from it. You just don't know what you want yet, but when you do… Daring, yes. Again, when have you had the chance to be daring? Many of us never truly have the chance to show our full courage or daring, because most of us lead normal lives… Unlike your father,' the Hat chuckled again. 'He was a difficult one.'

_He said I could choose._

'Well, I wouldn't say choose… more show a preference _of your own choice._ Which you have done. I expect you have your whole life.'

_Because of my family._

'Naturally. Yes, I know where you're going. You may seem a little timid, but you are not one of those power hungry, cunning Slytherin types. And that leaves only one option doesn't it?'

Albus could imagine the Sorting Hat smiling.

_Gryffindor!_

'GRYFFINDOR!' The Hat shouted for all to hear. Beaming, Albus whipped the Hat off his head and walked quickly to the table at the end that was cheering the hardest. He flushed as everybody clapped for him and patted him on the back. James pushed his way to the front, where Albus was about to take a seat next to Matilda Clarkson. He grinned at his younger brother and said,

'I told you that you had nothing to worry about!'

A/N: Okay, this is intended to be a one-shot. There's the possibility for more, such as the sorting of Rose (or Oscar, if anybody cares). I'm willing to write those if anybody would like that. Or, perhaps do something slightly different. Another Sorting ceremony would just be more of the same, don't you think? To sum up, I'm open to suggestions!


End file.
